Summer's Last Blooms
by Thirteen Songbirds
Summary: After the death of his wife, Glorfindel begins to fade, leaving his daughter to grieve. Will Miriel find a way to bring him back, or will he be lost to her forever? This was supposed to be tragedy, but I just couldn't leave anybody unhappy. Please R & R


_**Summer's Last Blooms**_

Glorfindel lay on the bed, pale and still, his heartbeat drastically slowed from it's normal rate. Elrond looked in compassion at the young woman sitting by his bedside, looking hopefully, anxiously at the beloved figure, usually so lively and energetic, lying so still you would scarcely know he was alive.

"Miriel, I wish I had better news for you, but it looks as if your Adar lost the will to live after we lost your Naneth. I don't know if we can keep him here long enough for him to sail, but we can try."

Miriel nodded, biting her lip and fighting back tears. Elrond put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which was promptly shrugged off. He didn't take offense, however. He knew how difficult it was, facing a choice like this. Even if Glorfindel managed to survive long enough to sail, poor Miriel would still lose her father, because, even though she loved him very much, she just wasn't ready for Valinor yet.

"E. . .excuse me, please." she said, dashing from the room, hoping nobody saw the tears streaming down her face. She ran into her room, not even bothering to shut the door, and threw herself down on the bed, sobbing violently. Her naneth had been out riding when she had been attacked by wargs, which had somehow slipped by the sentries and gotten inside the bounds of Imladris.

When she had been found, she was nearly dead from the wounds the wargs had given her, not to mention her leg, which had been broken in the fall from her horse as it tried to bolt. Celethiel passed on, despite Elrond's best efforts; her wounds had been too severe for recovery.

She had passed away two weeks ago, and since then, Glorfindel had gotten weaker and weaker, finally entering into this almost comatose state, rousing only to eat, and once to speak briefly with his daughter, trying his best to comfort her, even though he knew he was fading. He didn't have the heart to tell her, however.

As Miriel lay on the bed, crying her heart out, Elladan, Elrohir, and Erestor passed by on their way to the herb garden for their botany lesson. Erestor was quite a hands-on teacher, believing that a child learned more from experience. As they passed by Miriel's room, not expecting to see anything, as Erestor had given her the day off to be with her father, Elrohir glanced in through the open door and saw her on her bed, sobbing violently.

"Miriel, what's wrong?" he cried, which caught the attention of Elladan and Erestor. "Is 'Fin . . . is he. . ." Elrohir paused, unable to speak the worst. Erestor walked in the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking Miriel's hair, making soothing noises until she was calm enough to speak.

"Oh 'Res, Elrond says that Ada's fading, and we might be able to keep him alive long enough for him to sail, but I could tell from the look on his face that we have little h...hope of of th...th...thaaat!" she wailed, sitting up and burying her face in Erestor's shoulder, crying harder than ever.

Erestor wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry it all out on his shoulder, doing his best to restrain his own tears. Glorfindel had been one of his best friends their whole lives. In fact, they were practically brothers, as Erestor's sister had been Glorfindel's wife. Elladan and Elrohir were sitting bolt upright, with wide eyes that were slowly filling with tears. Glorfindel had been like a beloved uncle, excusing their mischief, and often conspiring with them in pranks against their father, who Glorfindel believed was too serious. Now they would lose all that, even if Glorfindel did survive. They both scooted closer and snuggled next to Erestor and Miriel, all four of them lost in grief, which was how Elrond found them ten minutes later, and he mourned with them.

Days passed by. Glorfindel got no better, but he got no worse either. Finally, on the sixth day, he roused himself enough to sit in a chair by the window, looking out over the rose beds that Celebrian had tended so faithfully in her years in Imladris, and which were still lovingly cared for in her memory. This window also looked out over Celethiel's grave. They had laid his beautiful Silver Maiden beneath the willow tree that grew in the gardens which she had so loved. As he watched, he saw his daughter come that way, wearing a black cloak against the chill wind that was blowing. He shivered himself, and yanked the blankets off the bed. In hindsight, he realized he could have just closed the window, but he was glad he didn't. Glorfindel saw Miriel walking toward her mother's grave, bearing a single white rose. When she reached the grave, she knelt down by the simple headstone and laid the rose upon it, kissing the petals. As he watched, she then began to softly sing.

_'Tis the last rose of summer/ __Left blooming alone_

_All her lovely companions/ __Are faded and gone_

_No Flower of her kindred/ __No rosebud is nigh_

_To reflect back her blushes/ __And give sigh for sigh_

Glorfindel gasped. This had been one of his wife's favorite songs, and one of the first that little Miriel, who had always had quite a beautiful voice, had learned to sing.

_I'll not leave thee now lone one/__To pine on a stem_

_Since the lovely are sleeping/__Go sleep thou with them_

_As kindly I scatter/__Thy leaves o'er the bed,_

_Where thy mates of the garden/__Lie scentless and dead._

Glorfindel sat perfectly still, listening to the pure, sweet sound of his beloved daughter's voice, and feeling a pang of remorse for ignoring her these past few days. At the start of the next verse, he heard that clear, steady voice wobble, betraying her hidden tears.

_So soon may I follow/__When friendships decay_

_When from love's shining circle/__The gems drop away_

_When true hearts lie withered/__And fond ones have flown_

_For who would inhabit/ __This bleak world alone?_

"Ai, Ada." she murmured, tears streaming down her face, now visible from where he was sitting. Glorfindel's breath hitched, and he realized the wetness on his face was his own tears. He finally saw how utterly selfish he had been. In his grief for his wife, he had forgotten completely about their daughter, his pride and joy; his little Jewel-Garlanded Maiden. He just now realized how lost and alone she must feel. She had lost her mother so young; how would she survive without the love of her father? He threw on his cloak and raced out to the garden, where he flopped down on the grave beside his daughter, who had her head in her hands and was weeping steadily, breath hitching in soft little sobs. He drew her into his arms, murmuring apologies and words of comfort and love. All the while, tears of self-recrimination were streaming down his face to mingle with hers of grief on the mound of bare earth.

Miriel thought she had finally lost her sanity from all the strain. Surely she was imagining her Ada sitting next to her, rocking her and whispering comforting words. She looked up, and saw his beloved face, with the stunning blond hair and crystalline blue eyes she loved so well. Then she knew she had not gone mad, that he was really here with her, and that he would never leave her again.

Epilogue:

Elrond was going frantic. He had left Glorfindel sleeping restlessly not a quarter of an hour before, and now he was absent. Then he noticed the bedclothes torn off the bed, the open window, and Glorfindel's missing cloak. When he looked out the window, he saw Glorfindel and Miriel sitting on Celethiel's grave, with him cradling her, and both weeping. Elrond walked away to his office and endless mounds of paperwork with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.


End file.
